I don't think it's the translation itself that they're worrying about, that's relatively cheap, it's the advertising, publishing and distribution that's costly :) Besides, I wouldn't offer to translate it yourself, leave that to professionals (not that your Japanese sucks ;)), since certain aspects like humourous remarks etc. are extremely hard to translate, yet translators do this on a daily basis.

I know people have good intentions, but I've rarely seen anything happen as a result of an online petition, even if it has signatures in the six digits.

Ah... there was supposed to be a :P after that to show I wasn't serious. Guess I forgot. :D

I'd much rather have a professional do it, too. In fact, I know just the professional to do it, if SUCCESS does decide to go to all the expense and bother that an international release would entail. My wife's cousin has been a professional translator for ten years, and she's been keen to get in with a Japanese games company but has gotten sort of stuck in her current job. In fact, she's the one who will be translating the petition to Japanese for me, though she's equally adept at translating from Japanese into English.

It occurred to me that they should just put an English translation in their game by default. Remember, we can just import DS-games from anywhere and play them without having to put up with region-locking-bs. Of course, an actual release in the western world would be awesome :)

I wonder what the humour will be like in this, If it will be like Phoenix Wright and will need parts rewritten or if it can just be translated straight into english and still make sense to us

Oh, I agree, and I've said the same myself before, but then most petitions are also poorly thought out. They fail to address the key issues which prevented the desired result from happening in the first place, in this case a perceived lack of market potential. Many are also put forth by single-minded people who fail to see a broader picture, that if you can't win the current match then set yourself up for a stronger play in the next one. I don't know whether SUCCESS can be persuaded to translate this game, but I have absolutely no doubt that they'll take any strong interest we show into consideration for future titles. And if we get enough signatures, I'll reference the petition with some other publishers to let them know there's a market for English releases.

I'm also putting together some e-mails to send to publishers who have already put out English titles, to let them know we appreciate what they've done and would love to see more. Likewise, I'm looking into contacting some independent Japanese developers to see if we can get the seed of English translation planted early. Most are operated as part of their publishing companies, though, so it's looking like there's no way to influence them directly.

And since I'm in the US right now, I've enlisted the help of my good friend, Erik, who's the manager of a local GameStop. He's put up screenshots and a game description along with a paper petition, and when I talked to him at lunchtime he told me he'd already gotten 50 signatures since yesterday. Way to go, Erik!

Failing all this, I'll see how much money I can put together to hire the Yakuza to, uh... deliver a convincing message in person. :P (Just kidding)

me

Ill do it for a plane ticket

It's hard to tell from the few screenshots they've released. But considering the translators of Phoenix Wright succeeded nicely in conveying the humor of the game, I'm sure it could be done here. Not everything needs to come across perfectly to work well.

Yeah i loved phoenix wright, personaly I hope if theres much humour in this then they take the same route as they did with PW instead of a direct translation.

That's pretty cool! :D

Where in the US are you right now?

In Maryland, about 20 minutes out from Washington, DC. I suppose I could try to get some politicians involved, too. :D

You should enlist the aid of Jack Abrahmoff, I hear he's pretty good at 'convincing' people :D

So when are those signitures going to be sent to the petition?

You have to confirm your signing by clicking on the link in the e-mail you got :)

Ive done mine, i meant the 50 from gamestop

The GameStop effort is going very well, especially now that thanks to Erik, I have a petition going in another of their stores. Erik's petition is already over a hundred signatures, and I'll check in with the other store on Sunday or Monday after I finish up with some family matters. At this rate I'm pretty excited, because considering how busy GameStop gets on the weekend, I can dream of this going over 500 signatures. (Online, we're not doing as well, so anyone out there who hasn't signed yet be sure to click the link in my sig right away. :D)

I'm thinking that since I have to pass through Tokyo anyway when I go back to Japan, I might put in an appearance at the SUCCESS Corp offices to deliver our petition in person. I'll walk through the door wearing my best suit and flashing my most ambassadorial smile, and will stubbornly refuse to leave until the company president agrees to our demands... or until someone threatens to call the police.

Dont bother walking in through reception and stuff like that, get a helicopter to fly you to the offic, swing through the window, slam the petition down with very detailed cover letter then jump back out the window parachuting to safety!

They will be so shock/stunned/amazed that they will sign a us publishing deal right away!

Karmillo - you should make a game. :P

One day Mel, one day :D